Title

HEALTH

Coronavirus testing extended to frontline council staff

Council staff with symptoms of COVID-19 will be able to get tested for the virus, the Government has announced.

Council staff with symptoms of COVID-19 will be able to get tested for the virus, the Government has announced.

Under plans to substantially increase testing capacity, the Government said all essential workers and their families in England will be able to get tested.

This includes local government staff critical to the effective delivery of the coronavirus response or delivering essential public services.

Employers will be able to register and refer self-isolating staff for testing or employees will be able to book a test directly for themselves or members of their household if they have symptoms.

A home delivery service, which ran out of tests just hours after being launched this morning, will also be available.

Secretary of state for health and social care, Matt Hancock, said: 'It's all part of getting Britain back on her feet.'

HEALTH

New towns strategy faces critical test of local consent

By John Gregory | 01 April 2026

John Gregory examines how the Government's new towns programme prioritises speed over scale and why securing local buy-in will determine whether ambition tra...

HEALTH

Show us the money

By Lee Peart | 31 March 2026

Social care funding is ‘a classic for the insurance system’, and the deadline for the final Casey Commission report should be brought forward. Lee Peart repo...

HEALTH

Reducing reliance on temporary housing

By Naisha Polaine | 26 March 2026

Councils are still placing record numbers into short-term housing, but local authorities like Barnet LBC are now attempting to take back some control, explai...

HEALTH

Ensuring Wigan has a big role to play in a digital future

By Cllr Nazia Rehman | 24 March 2026

Wigan is harnessing the regenerative power of AI with positive implications for the local economy, says Cllr Nazia Rehman.

Popular articles by Laura Sharman